Thanks for being around!

Followers

Friday, December 11, 2009

Eggless Fruit and Nut Cake

I’ve been quite excited off late.Yes,this season does that to you.Even though I am a Hindu and as such we don’t celebrate Xmas,the festival spirit is too hard to ignore.Back home,in Kerala,Christmas stars started to light up as early as late November and during childhood,I used to pester amma to get one for myself too.And who can forget the cakes,Fruit cakes or Plum cakes as it is known in Kerala pouring in by December 2nd or 3rd week.The bakery opposite our home was loaded with cakes,all their shelves and storage spaces were crammed with cakes.We used to gift cakes too-as they say,some festivals are celebrated for the joy it spreads,irrespective of caste or religion.

Though I was not so fond of Fruit cakes..the white icing on top and the pretty flowers on it used to excite me more,I have grown to like the cake more now.I love the strong flavor of the rum soaked fruits and the deep dark colour of the caramel.I tried making my own version last year following Mishmash’s recipe.I was surprised myself knowing that the taste of the Plum cake can be recreated after all.

As going through quite a number of recipes for Fruit Cakes this year,I came across this marvelous recipe at Anushruti’s blog-Divine Taste.I had tried my Birthday cake from her blog and loved it.I made this one for my amma who hasn’t tasted a Fruit cake till date as it contains eggs.I knew she would love it and she did.She shared a few pieces with her friends/neighbours and kept aside a major chunk so that she could relish it.Thank you Anushruti!!

Grease and line the bottom of an 8” square or 9” round cake tin with greaseproof paper/baking parchment/butter paper.Sift together flour,baking powder and baking soda to make the mixture uniform.Heat the oil in a pan and add the fruits and nuts.Stir in the jaggery/brown sugar,sugar, jam and 100 ml water.Heat on a low flame until the sugar and jaggery/brown sugar melt, stirring all the while.Don’t overcook the mixture. Allow to cool and add the remaining 100 ml water, rind and spice powder.. Mix in the sifted flour mixture and beat with a spoon or a wire whisk until there are no lumps.Transfer the contents to the greased and lined tin and bake in a preheated oven at 150 degree centigrade for 1 hour or until a skewer comes out clean.

Wow eggless, i have never made a cake without them.I made Mishmash recipeie and it was a huge hit in my place. This looks so so good. I have not made any fruit cake as i am the only one who is wild about them.

Hey Divz..... Eggless cake??? so soft....gr8 Gal.. I remember fruit cakes which we used to get in school during christmas(as we ver in convent).... Nd all thos sweets yum they were...... Jingle Bells Jingle Bells Jingle all the way .... nd many more carols going on during those days.... Cake luks fab... can i share it???

I'm a first-timer to your blog, infact discovered you just yesterday. I have been reading food blogs for some time now, but I really don't know how I missed you for so long. Yours is a great blog Divya. I love it. And your recipes, I love them even more! Will try them out soon...

Meanwhile, kudos to you for putting up this wonderful blog...I'm totally hooked to it!

Nice blog that you have. Chanced upon it when I read the post on Anushruthi's blog. I have tried this recipe twice. It tasted great but I faced some difficulties. I thought you would be able to help me. It tasted awesome both the times. But I faced some difficulties-1) It sank in the middle. 2) My skewer didnt come out clean at 1 hour. So I waited…and waited…as soon as I saw the edges getting charred at 1 hr. 20 min, I removed it. The result was that it seemed more like chewy fudge when it cooled off than a cake and I had also found it difficult to upturn it into the wire rack. (I had greased the pan with butter)3) Also it overflowed from my 9 inch round pan. Like I said it tasted real good…so all’s well that tastes well. But is there something wrong I did here?